Mother Iryna Yaroshenko:

"It happened on 26 April 2015. Young people used to get together here. The shelling attack started abruptly. Things around blew up. The debris fell on people. 19 people got injured. There was nowhere to run. It was so scary!

Son Yevhenii, 16:

My friend was hit in the arm, and I was shot in the neck

"We were walking with friends in the village. We celebrated a friend's birthday. Suddenly, at 09:45 a.m., the shelling started and shells exploded around us. My friend was hit in the arm, and I was shot in the neck.

It was very abrupt, we didn't even expect it. I went to talk on the phone and suddenly, when I picked up the phone, the shelling started and fragments started flying. Fragments began to fly. I was confused at first. Then I saw that the guys hid behind the building. So I ran in the same direction. But at a time when I was running, I was wounded.

At first, I didn't understand that I was wounded. I thought it was something small. But then, when we hid, I got down on my knees to hide from the fragments and saw this. I felt I was losing consciousness. My eyes got blurry. I realized that I had a wound, because I felt that I had a hole in my neck. And then I was taken to my parents.

Iryna:

We also all fell on the floor at work. I started calling, "Son, where are you?" He said, "Mum, I think I'm injured."

Then, about ten minutes later, the boys brought him to the store to the firing sounds. I was provided with medical care. Luckily, my cousin is a medic. So she literally saved me. She rendered first aid.

I asked him, "Are you in a lot of pain?" He responded, "It feels like someone just punched me in the neck." When he got first aid and went out  to the entrance. Then he began to shake so much that they barely calmed him down.

Then we went to the hospital in Artemivsk. However, since there are no neurosurgeons in Artemivsk, he had a surgery in Donetsk. The operation lasted two hours. They didn't get the fragment because it was in the cervical vertebra. The child still has a fragment in him. All the nerve endings are there. The doctors say that if it was removed, he might have been a cripple.

Evhenii:

"Sometimes I feel pain in the neck. I don't really feel it. Unless I move the neck to the right side a bit harder than usual. Then I can feel it.

My friend was hit in the arm, and I was shot in the neck

I did weightlifting with friends at the gym. I had to give it up. I used to play football too, but I don't play now because the fragment bothers me. I can't make any sudden movements, because any awkward movement may break some nerves.

My friend was hit in the arm, and I was shot in the neck

I used to dream that I would get medals and award certificates. After the injury, I have to do without it.

Iryna:

"Praise be to God that he is healthy. Certainly, I'm not happy that the fragment is still in the neck. It began to encapsulate. It's alright. Old people said that they lived with fragments their whole lives since the war."

Evhenii:

"I got a call from the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation and offered to go a a sanatorium for recovery. And that's how I got here. I felt much less pain in the neck. I like it here. There are lakes here. There are some spots to hang around. I am very grateful. I dreamed of going somewhere to relax this summer. And here I am. I hope that I will be able to continue doing weightlifting  in the future if I feel better. Well, now I am fond of swimming. We try to move on but stay focused.